4 Citroen Vehicles To Be Launched In India By Groupe PSA By 2023

The C5 Aircross has been confirmed to be launched in India by Citroen in September 2020. Now, Groupe PSA has been reported to launch three other Citroen models besides this SUV in India by 2023.

It has been announced by Groupe PSA that one new Citroen model will be launched each year after the launch of the C5 Aircross, from 2021 to 2023, which means that after the C5 Aircross, by 2023, the European giant auto manufacturer will have three more models in the Indian auto market. Notably, these models will be developed according to the “C Cubed” plan, in which the three Cs represent Cool, Comfort and Clever.

Citroën enters India with the C5 Aircross SUV | Will take on the Tata Harrier and Jeep Compass.

For the first one, “Cool” indicates that Citroen vehicles will feature a masculine and unique appearance. Secondly, “Comfort” implies that the cars will offer great comfort with connectivity options and comfortable ergonomics. Finally, “Clever” means the company’s models can win the heart of many Indian auto buyers.

The C5 Aircross is expected to go to India as a CKD (completely knocked-down) unit from the France-based Rennes-La Janais plant factory. Then it will be assembled at Groupe PSA-CK Birla Group factory in Tiruvallur, Tamil Nadu. This vehicle is unlikely to be sold in large numbers since it is going to be a brand-building vehicle.

The three Citroen vehicles following the C5 Aircross each year in the period from 2021 to 2023 will be a small hatchback, a subcompact sedan and a subcompact SUV which will rival the Hyundai i20 Active, the Hyundai Verna and the upcoming Hyundai Venue, respectively. Groupe PSA is expected to manufacture all these vehicles with up to 90% localisation levels to save the production cost as much as possible.

Furthermore, these three Citroen models will be underpinned by CMP (Common Modular Platform), Groupe PSA’s multi-energy and modular platform which has been developed in cooperation with Dongfeng Motors. Since a version of the platform, known as eCMP is also available for EVs, Groupe PSA is also likely to introduce these environmentally-friendly vehicles to India.

The three new models by Citroen will be underpinned by Groupe PSA's Common Modular Platform.

The new models will be launched in the domestic Indian auto market first and then to other foreign ones. Whether these vehicles will be all-new products or new-gen of the existing one is still open to question. They are expected to contribute a great deal to the target of Groupe PSA to account for 2% of the market share in India by the 2025-26 fiscal year.